1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bipods, tripods, or quadripods, and more specifically to portable bi-, tri-, and quadripods of the type used to aid in vertically inserting and extracting personnel and equipment into confined spaces, including, among others: manholes; mines; oil, water, and gas wells; crevices and fissures; and the like. This kind of device is typically employed in confined space extrication, crash rescue operations, industrial safety, mining, oil/gas refining, building collapse, marine operations, fire rescue operations, and civil defense operations.
2. Background of the Prior Art
Prior art bi-, tri-, and quadripods typically consist of a support member and two, three, or four legs, respectively, pivotally attached to the support member and extending downward and outwardly from the respective corners of the support member to form a base. The support member usually includes attachment points for such devices as pulleys, manual or motorized winches, or other kinds of block-and-tackle with mechanical advantages for hauling and supporting objects with either cable or rope. During the use of such an apparatus, generally no more than one attachment point may be used at any one time in bipods, three attachment points in tripods, and four attachment points in quadripods, thus limiting the number and arrangement of devices deployable and loads manipulable. Further, devices and loads attached to the support member induce forces acting on the legs which are both compressive and lateral and do not optimize the load bearing capacity of the legs.
It would thus be desirable to provide an improved bi-, tri-, or quadripod apparatus which is able to accommodate an increased number of devices while also providing for increased stability and load tolerance. It would be further desirable to provide an apparatus that makes it possible to haul from a remote location so as to minimize congestion in the immediate area of the apparatus, and to do so without causing increased lateral instability in the apparatus.
None of the known prior art, either singly or in combination, is seen to disclose the specific arrangement of concepts disclosed by the present invention.